The launch of the new iPhone could not lift shares of Apple as they fell about a per cent on Wednesday amid worries over revenue hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Apple launched a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall at a time when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending.

The second-generation iPhone SE introduced on Wednesday will sell for as little as $399, a 40 per cent markdown from the most affordable iPhone 11 unveiled last year. Higher-end versions of the iPhone 11 sell for more than $1,000. Online orders for the iPhone SE will begin Friday, with the first deliveries expected April 24.

High-priced gadgets are expected to become an even tougher sell as the economy plunges into its deepest downturn in more than a decade.

However, it should be noted that Apple maps out its products many months in advance and the new iPhone SE isn't a direct response to the economic meltdown hatched by the pandemic.

Shares of Apple closed down 0.91 per cent at $284.43 at NADSAQ.